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Helpful LinksExcerpt from the Department of Public Health's Annual Report for 1906-1907 Toilets/Latrines 1906 Earthquake & FireToilets/LatrinesWith sewer lines broken, there was an immediate loss of toilets. The Department of Public Works and the Army played important roles in re-establishing this aspect of sanitary conditions, to prevent disease outbreaks. Under such circumstances, a cholera outbreak might have occurred, but it was prevented. There was an increase in typhoid fever, but this outbreak was quickly controlled (see below).
![]() Signs warning of the perils of sewage contamination. The top sign, most likely posted by soldiers, says "Sewers blocked. Do not use toilets. [SF health?] threatened. Obey orders or get shot." (from Collier's Weekly, permission pending) ![]() Emergency sanitary engineering. [Women's lavatory, unidentified location.] Many latrines were quickly established in the temporary camps around the city. Initially they were unscreened, and flies carried fecal material to the communal kitchens -- a cause of typhoid fever that was discovered and controlled (see Department of Public Health Annual Report for 1906-1907). Photo courtesy of the California Historical Society, FN-33296 [photo info].
Temporary sewer mains (?) along unidentified street, Mission District. It took a while to re-establish sewage disposal. Photo courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley [photo info]. |